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The world cannot depend on the US to keep trade peace

Relying on American military power to protect Red Sea shipping routes is risky

FILE PHOTO: Container ships sail across the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, in El Ain El Sokhna in Suez, east of Cairo, Egypt, March 17, 2018. Picture taken March 17, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

For a country that ostensibly cares little about the multilateral system, the US certainly provides some vital global public goods to defend it.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Alan Beattie

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When it comes to giving pirates a hard time to keep the arteries of global trade flowing, the United States is definitely your go-to country. For decades, America’s navy has patrolled the world’s shipping lanes to deter maritime marauders, a job deserving great credit.

The Houthis, whose

attacks on container ships

and US Navy vessels in the Red Sea have severely limited commercial traffic through the Suez Canal, are a much tougher challenge. The current situation underlines that the US’ most critical work protecting supply chains is in hard-edged geopolitical and military situations. But its motives are more strategic than economic, which can make its actions only ambiguously useful – and subject to political shifts.

The world cannot depend on the US to keep trade peace

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